Friday, January 30, 2009

There are several candidates running for Los Angeles Mayor in the March 3 election, including the incumbent Antonio Villaraigosa. Patt spends a few minutes talking with each of his contenders. Today, it's Walter Moore.

Walter Moore, lawyer, candidate for LA Mayor

Call him

2:06 – 2:20

Lessons Learned?Reviewing the Troubled Effort to Rebuild Iraq

After six years and at least $50 billion in American money, what is there to show for the colossal reconstruction effort of Iraqi infrastructure?American money and energy went to a huge variety of projects, from rehabilitating oil fields to construction of basic utilities like the power grid and water treatment plants, producing a few victories but many more failures in the plan to rebuild Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion.A new report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction sums up the hard lessons learned in Iraq and attempts to follow the mysterious trails of billions of dollars that seemingly vanished in the Iraqi desert.

Guests:

Stuart Bowen, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

CALL HIM:

2:20 – 2:40

Lessons Learned—What About Afghanistan?

So if we can agree that the American effort to rebuild Iraq has produced, at best, mixed results, what kind of return have we seen from our investment in Afghanistan?Somewhat of an afterthought during the military and construction missions in Iraq, Afghanistan will now move to the forefront of foreign policy in the new Obama administration.Is it too late to learn from failures in Iraq in order to pull off a smarter, more effective rebuild of Afghanistan?

Guests:

TBD

2:40 – 3:00

"The Day the Music Died"

Tomorrow (Tues, Feb 3) marks the 50th anniversary of the plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa that killed Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens—that was "The Day the Music Died" in Don McLean's "American Pie." Southern California native Ritchie Valens' career only lasted a few months, but he pioneered a legacy for Latino rock stars whose influences can still be seen. Director of "La Bamba" Luis Valdez and local Latino music legend Ozomatli join us for a tribute to the late Richard Valenzuela.

Guests:

Luis Valdez, playwright and director - he's called the father of Chicano theater.In 1987 he directed "La Bamba," the story of Ritchie Valens.

CALL HIM:

Raul Pacheco, singer and guitarist of Ozomatli, a Los Angeles-based band with a sound mix of urban-Latino, hip hop and salsa, dancehall and cumbia, samba and funk, merengue and comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican ragga and Indian raga.

As you can see the media has begun to move the March 3rd election closer to center stage. As a result our grassroots efforts are beginning to connect the dots as to just who this David Hernandez is and what he has been up to in the Community.

So first let�s do a brief recap.

1.Leading the fight to save Public Access Cable Broadcasting free of governmental control.

2. Campaigning against Prop B the attempt to give the Mayor the ability to tipple your DWP Rates.

3.Blowing the whistle on the failed and corrupt gang intervention programs and exposing the false gang crime stats.

4. Spending two years fighting the 42 million dollar elephant exhibit at the LA Zoo and supporting sending the elephants to PAWS Sanctuary.

5. Two years fighting for LA Residents against Prop R the council term limit extension/ethics reform.

6.Four years fighting to give the voters the right to vote on the Los Angeles County Seal.

7.Fighting for the rights of Black Americans and the loss of vital resources.

8. Fighting against the unconstitutional take over of LAUSD by the Mayor.

9. Serving as President of LA Mission College Foundation Board, giving out

$31,000 in scholarships in 2008.

10. Serving on the Board of Youth Services Network providing shelter, education and social services for abused boys.

11.Serving as President of Justiceville/Homeless USA (DomeVillage)

12.Executive Director of the San Fernando Chamber of Commerce.

For your viewing pleasure, here is segment of the Candidates Forum hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association and attached an article appearing in the Opinion Section of todays Los Angeles Times.

More events are coming in daily. As you can see, I am doing my part. Now I must ask for you to do yours. Our message is clear and well received but we must have the resources to get it to a broader section of the community.

If you can contribute to our campaign, now is the time to do so. Please go to www.dave4la.com and make your contribution on line or by mail.

Feb. 3 Agenda Highlights

City of Arcadia honored for being named by BusinessWeek magazine as “One of the Best Cities in the Nation in Which to Raise Kids.”

Report scheduled on status of the state budget, the proposal to defer/delay payments to the County, and recommended actions to prevent or mitigate such impacts. (Item S-1, 11 a.m.)

Financial status report to be given on Department of Health Services. (Item S-2, 11:30 a.m.)

Reestablishment of $25,000 reward proposed for information leading to the arrest/conviction of person(s) responsible for the strangulation murders of Veronica Ultreras and her 3-year-old daughter, Cynthia, in Los Angeles on Jan. 2, 1993. (Item 4)

Proposal calls for reestablishing $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest/conviction of person(s) responsible for the shooting deaths of five persons at homeless encampment along 405 Freeway at Santa Fe Avenue off-ramp on Nov. 2, 2008. (Item 7)

Board asked to approve agreement with City of Los Angeles to establish a joint authority to improve efficiency/responsiveness of public safety departments in the region through the use of electronic information sharing. (Item 13)

$443,000 proposal would implement improvements to the employment discrimination complaint process, including hiring seven additional employees, in effort to gain greater accountability and minimize risk/liability to the County. (Item 18)

Proposal would increase annual contract limit from $2 million to $4 million annually to allow County departments to better plan/design/implement/support the computer systems that rely on Microsoft technologies. (Item 20)

$750,000 proposal would fund additional cleanup required due to increased trash/debris deposits in the collection system at mouth of river in the Long Beach Outer Harbor area, upping total budget to $1.2 million. (Item 37)

and Whittier School Districts are Recognized for their Exemplary Arts Education Programs

LOS ANGELES —The Music Center of Los Angeles County, a national leader in arts education, announced the fifteen teachers and three schools named as finalists for the 27th Annual BRAVO Awards, honoring teachers and schools for exemplary arts education. The BRAVO Awards are an integral part of the Music Center’s leadership in supporting quality arts education for all students.

BRAVO Awards nominations were made by principals, faculty committees, superintendents, and parents. Finalists were chosen from over 50 applicants and participated in an extensive review process including site visits, feedback by the judging committee, and also attended a winter forum addressing key topics in arts education.

Awards are given in three categories: Generalist, Arts Specialist, and School Recognition, and are accompanied by a cash prize (generously donated by Club 100 members Elinor Turner, and Sue Tsao.) In an effort to acknowledge and recognize the many art educator applicants and awardees,the Bravo Awards ceremony will be held for the first time at Walt Disney Concert. The free ceremony will be followed by a dessert reception.

The Music Center BRAVO Awards were established in 1982 to recognize teachers and schools for innovation and excellence in arts education. It honors educators who use the arts to revitalize teaching, enhance student achievement and foster self-esteem, teamwork and cross-cultural communication and understanding. The BRAVO Award is sponsored in part by Club 100; a group of dynamic women dedicated to supporting arts education programs at the Music Center.

# # #

2009 BRAVO FINALISTS

Listed by category, teacher (if applicable), school name, school district

ARTS SPECIALISTS

Kari Frethman

Culver City Middle School

Culver City USD

Typhani Harris

Diamond Ranch High School

Pomona USD

Dan Hawkins

California High School

Whittier Union High School District

Joanne Karr

Walnut High School

Walnut Valley USD

Leo Krubsac

Milikan Middle School

Los Angeles USD

Kaye Ogita

Valentine Elementary

San Marino USD

Amy Rangel

Glendale High School

Glendale USD

John Whitener

David Starr Jordan Middle School

Burbank USD

GENERALISTS

Suzanne Culbertson

Royal Oak Middle School

Charter Oak USD

Christine Godfrey

Cabrillo High School

Long Beach USD

Barbara Ann Hickey

J.E. Van Wig Elementary

Bassett USD

Sarah Kleinberg

Herbert Hoover High School

Glendale USD

Jane McEneaney

Turning Point High School

Private

Marlene Morris

Canyon Charter

Santa Monica-Malibu USD

Tyke O’Brien

Archer School for Girls

Private

SCHOOL

Gabriella Charter School

Los Angeles USD

Lindero Canyon

Las Virgenes USD

Renaissance Arts

Los Angeles USD

*To be removed from our database, please reply to lbuckley@musiccenter.org with the word REMOVE in the subject line

This email is solely for the intended addressee, and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, please do not use or distribute this material. If you have received this communication in error, please notify me immediately, return this transmission, and delete or destroy any copies.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

At the moment, 12,000 robots are fighting the war on terror; one day human soldiers may even be obsolete. P.W. Singer's last two books foretold the advent of private military firms and child soldiers. Both proved to be unnervingly accurate. He joins us today with his new book, Wired for War: the Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century, predicting the dawn of robotic warfare, the most significant development in military affairs since the atom bomb.

Guest:

P.W. Singer, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, coordinator of the Obama-08 campaign's defense policy task force, author of Wired for War

Via ISDN

[NPR NEWS]

2:00 – 2:20

The Super Bowl: Football, Booze, Food…and Ridiculous Bets

Gambling is as much a part of the Super Bowl as the football itself, and over the years the variety of bets a gambler can make on various elements of the big game has grown to silly proportions. From the color of the Gatorade poured on the winning coach to the length of the national anthem, prop bets offers the most degenerate of gamblers the opportunity to blow through their money in the most nonsensical of ways. What are this year’s best Super Bowl prop bets, and is there a science to winning?

They may be out of work, but they still have opinions on the onstage offerings in Southern California. From "Pippen" at the Taper and "Taking Over" at the Kirk Douglas Theater all the way to "That Naked Musical" at Macha Theater, LA Weekly theater critic-at-large, Steven Leigh Morris, Frontiers Magazine's Wenzel Jones, and Back Stage's Dany Margolies, join Patt for a discussion (and critique) of the latest to hit the local stage.

Rowland Heights -The Ume Cherry trees are in full blossom at the County of Los Angeles, Schabarum Regional Park, and since their initial planting 17 years ago, they continue to bloom every year from mid January through February. The fragrant pink and white blossoms are only here for a short time, so come out soon and see these trees in all of their pink and white splendor. The trees are located at the far south section of the park between the youth campground and the equestrian concession areas.

Schabarum Regional Park’s Ume trees were donated in 1992 by Schabarum Park’s “sister-park,” Mito Kairakuen Park, located in Ibaraki Perfecture, Japan. The funds required to maintain the original 500-tree grove come from an initial donation by the same park in Japan. The funds provide for inspections, required pruning, pest spray applications, or the replacement of dead trees. These services are performed by a certified arborist who comes to the Park each week.

Schabarum Park, located at 17250 Est Colima Road, Rowland Heights, CA 91748, charges a $4.00 vehicle entrance fee on weekends and holidays, but is free of charge during the week. The park is currently open from 6:00 a.m. to dusk on week days and 7:00 a.m. to dusk on weekends. Park hours are extended during daylight savings time months. For more information call: 626-854-5560 or the website at: www.parks.lacounty.gov:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY – The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health provides crisis support and management following tragedies similar to the Wilmington family shootings that took place yesterday, announced Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the Department’s ACCESS Center provides phone access to a licensed mental health professional able to provide vital information on services, referrals, dispatch, and crisis and mobile response teams.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY – Figures from the Department of Public Social Services show that children of illegal aliens in Los Angeles County collected $450 million in welfare and food stamps in 2008 – an increase of $25 million from the previous year, announced Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich

Annually the cost of illegal immigration to Los Angeles County taxpayers exceeds over one billion dollars, which includes $220 million for public safety, $400 million for healthcare, and $450 million in welfare and food stamps allocations. Twenty-five percent of the County’s total allotment of welfare and food stamps benefits goes directly to the children of illegal aliens born in the United States.

“Illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers,” said Antonovich. “The total cost for illegal immigrants to County taxpayers exceeds $1 billion a year – not including the millions of dollars for education.”

STORYCORPS, THE NATIONAL ORAL HISTORY PROJECT, COMES TO EAST LOS ANGELES, CA

89.3-FM KPCC HOSTS STORYCORPS DURING ITS 4-WEEK STAY IN EAST LOS ANGELES – MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES AND COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY

OPENING RECEPTION THURSDAY, JANUARY 29

LOS ANGELES (REMINDER - January 27, 2009) – StoryCorps, a national initiative to document everyday history and the unique stories of Americans, will arrive next week in East Los Angeles with an opening reception and welcome by Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina Thursday, January 29. StoryCorps will be collecting the stories of Southern California residents as part of their cross-country tour. StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project in partnership with NPR and the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress.

The StoryCorps mobile StoryBooth -- an Airstream trailer outfitted with a recording studio -- will be parked at East Los Angeles Library, part of the County of Los Angeles Public Library for four weeks and will be open Thursday through Monday, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. StoryCorps plans to collect approximately 120 interviews during its stay in East L.A.

Since its launch in October 2003, StoryCorps’ mobile and stationary recording studios have collected interviews in 100 towns in 48 states -- over 20,000 stories in all. In East L.A. StoryCorps is partnering with 89.3-FM KPCC, which is operated by Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), So CA’s most listened to NPR news station. KPCC will air a selection of the local stories and create special programs around the project. Selected segments may also air nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition.

89.3-FM KPCC will host an Opening Day press event to introduce the project to the community and allow press and the public to tour the booth, speak to the StoryCorps staff, and hear from the first set of participants who will interview on the day of the event.